Using implants for dental restoration of completely or partially edentulous patients has become widely accepted practice. In a two-stage restoration, the first stage involves an incision through the gingiva to expose the underlying bone. The dentist uses a series of progressively larger drill bits or burs to form an osteotomy in the jawbone, places a dental implant that typically comprises a titanium cylinder with a leading end threaded on the outside and a trailing end with a threaded bore, seals the bore with a cover screw, and sutures gum tissue over the implant and cover screw. Healing and osteointegration continue for weeks or months, after which the second stage starts. The dentist re-opens gum tissue, removes the cover screw, and secures a healing abutment to the exposed end of the implant to allow gum tissue to heal around the abutment. After healing, the abutment is removed, an impression coping is screwed into the implant, and an impression is taken, from which a prosthesis is made and definitively secured to the implant. An alternative, single-stage procedure involves forming the osteotomy, placing the implant and possibly immediately securing a prosthesis to the implants. In a single-tooth restoration, the prosthesis restores the appearance of the tooth. The prosthesis can also be in the form of a partial denture supported by two or more implants. Or, it can be a denture supported by several implants and possibly replacing all teeth in a dental arch.
In some cases, the dentist uses a surgical template to assist in the process of creating the osteotomy. One way to make the surgical template is to take a CT scan of the patient's mouth and use the resulting three-dimensional (3D) image and computer-aided-design (CAD) software to develop a virtual guide that shows proposed locations and other information regarding the planned implant(s). Computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) software and equipment can use the virtual template to fabricate the actual surgical template, which the dentist registers or fixates in the patient's mouth to prepare implant osteotomies by drilling through guide holes in the template.